“The Fukushima Disaster Opens New Prospects for Cooperation in Northeast Asia” (Markku Heiskanen)

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This article by Asia Institute Senior Associate Markku Heiskanen on NAPSNET sums up well many of the topics we have been discussing at Asia Institute and dovetails well with my upcoming article.

The Fukushima Disaster Opens New Prospects for Cooperation in Northeast Asia
By James Goodby & Markku Heiskanen

June 28, 2011

I. Introduction

James Goodby, former American ambassador to Finland and Markku Heiskanen, former Finnish diplomat and Senior Associate of The Asia Institute in Daejeon, South Korea, write that “[t]he nuclear disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan has dramatically demonstrated the interdependence between the countries of Northeast Asia. This crisis poses a palpable threat to Northeast Asia, and is not an issue of military conflict, but rather of environmental pollution, as radioactive materials spread across national frontiers. It is an example of a number of transnational issues that can be addressed effectively only through cooperative actions.”

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Nautilus Institute. Readers should note that Nautilus seeks a diversity of views and opinions on significant topics in order to identify common ground.

II. Article by James Goodby & Markku Heiskanen

-The Fukushima Disaster Opens New Prospects for Cooperation in Northeast Asia
By James Goodby & Markku Heiskanen

Read this report online at:
http://www.nautilus.org/publications/essays/napsnet/forum/Goodby_Heiskanen_Fukushima%20

The nuclear disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan has dramatically demonstrated the interdependence between the countries of Northeast Asia. This crisis poses a palpable threat to Northeast Asia, and is not an issue of military conflict, but rather of environmental pollution as radioactive materials spread across national frontiers. It is an example of a number of transnational issues that can be addressed effectively only through cooperative actions. It is hard to find any positive thing to be said about this disaster except to express the hope that this common threat can rally Northeast Asia to recognize that degradation of the environment is an immediate threat. If it can lead the nations of Northeast Asia to divert more of their budgets to non-traditional threats, it could be a unique gift presented by this crisis.

The massive release of radioactive material is a serious threat with implications for all of us and requires renewed examination of nuclear safety globally, not just in Japan.

The countries in Northeast Asia are heavily dependent on nuclear power. China already has 13 power reactors and 25 more are being built. Others are planned. In Japan there are 50 main reactors. There are 21 nuclear reactors in South Korea. North Korea has one. Given this concentration of reactors in areas where earthquakes and other natural disasters have happened fairly frequently, it would be prudent to consider whether additional safety measures are called for.

The full support of the entire international community is needed to address nuclear reactor safety. Top experts from around the world should be mobilized to discuss how radioactivity from damaged reactors can best be contained. International research teams should work around the clock to develop new systems to prevent and respond to similar crises.

We need full funding support to quickly make the solutions proposed viable. There are two possible avenues for progress in this area: one is the Nuclear Security Summit scheduled to meet in Seoul in 2012; the other is to proceed within the framework offered by the Six-party Talks.

This process should and can be started without delay in Northeast Asia. The six-party talks, aimed since 2003 at solving the North Korean nuclear issue, offers a ready-made forum for such a regional conference in Northeast Asia with the participation of Japan, China, North and South Korea, Russia and the United States. There is a specific working group on economy and energy ready to tackle this issue. European expertise could be utilized in the process. If those talks are not reinstated soon, a forum might be found within the framework of preparatory work for the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit.

Although the main target in the talks should be urgent development of a regional energy safety system, in the longer run what should emerge is a fully developed regional energy system. The ultimate goal should be a Northeast Asia Energy Development Organization including all the countries of the region. This proposal, and how to realize it, could be discussed in the run-up to the Seoul Summit. The President of South Korea already has suggested that North Korea participate in the Seoul Conference. It would be natural to invite North Korean energy experts to participate in the preparatory talks if an item such as is suggested here were on the agenda.

A version of such an organization was established in 1995 as the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO), in which the EU also participated, to fulfill the 1994 US-DPRK Agreed Framework. It was founded by Japan, South Korea and the United States. KEDO was terminated in 2006 after evidence of uranium enrichment activities in North Korea was revealed. Finland was the first general member of KEDO.
A new and more comprehensive energy organization should include China, Russia, Japan, the United States, the ROK and the DPRK. The EU might also participate in some fashion. The mandate should be to promote energy security and safety in Northeast Asia and contribute to economic development. It should have a standing secretariat; broad oversight should be provided by a Council of Ministers. The European Atomic Energy Community’s charter suggests some relevant missions.

The provision of nuclear fuel services could be multilateralized within this framework, allowing the sharing of both North and South Korea in the ownership and the output of one or more nuclear fuel service facilities in China, Russia, and Japan. The condition must be, of course, that the DPRK re-commits to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), including its status as a non-nuclear weapon state. And that means a confirmed dismantling of its nuclear weapons program.

The European post-war experience of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), founded in 1951, has lessons which may be useful in the present situation. The insight of French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman and his intellectual collaborator, Jean Monnet, was that if Franco-German production of coal and steel were placed under a common High Authority, it would plant the seeds of peace between Germany and France. Today’s European Union traces its origins to Schuman’s declaration of May 9, 1950, celebrated today as “Europe Day”.

We can turn the disaster in Japan into a process towards a new era of peace and security in Northeast Asia.

http://www.nautilus.org/publications/essays/napsnet/forum/Goodby_Heiskanen_Fukushima%20

Plastic Surgery in Seoul (part 2)

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I am not sure exactly what is going on, but plastic surgery means more than a bit of surgery in Korea these days. First, plastic surgery does not seem to be that optional anymore. The more attractive you are, the more likely you are to think you need it to be even more attractive. Just about all girls are under pressure to do so, and an increasing number of boys.

Moreover, it is increasingly an international business, bringing in people from around the world into Seoul. There are now plastic surgery complexes in Shinsa and Apgujeong, the heart of Gangnam, that are a combination of ritzy cafe, hotel, hospital and amusement park. People sip cafe lattes, flirt and lounge around between bouts with the knife. The “plastic surgery” total experience is not to be missed. And materials and advertisements are found everywhere in Chinese and Japanese. In fact, many of those working at the clinics speak Chinese and Japanese.

The first advertisement featured here shows two somewhat abstract faces. One is the before and the other the “after” picture. It is not hard to understand what is represented, but the interesting point is how much it looks like some sort of an online game.

Young people tend to see, by analogy, their own bodies as somehow akin to the possible forms you can select in a video game. Look at this example from the popular kids game “Bubble Fighter” as an example.

The player picks what body type and characteristics he or she wants. So also with games for young girls in which one picks dresses and facial and body types. In an odd way, the consumer selection motif is being carried over to the body itself. As if the virtual reality on line were spilling over into daily quotidian life.

Of course the result is an illusion, for much in plastic surgery creates more serious problems in later life. We have a strange combination of a virtual on-line culture where the most recent event cancels out everything before with an unprecedented life expectancy that suggests most people will live much longer than they ever imagined.

The second advertisement is more artistic, following the general conflation between plastic surgery are art (the blending of the natural and artificial) that we see in East Asia. Compared with the United States, the cultural context for plastic surgery quite elevated. it is a topic that is discussed openly and which becomes a topic for real artistic expression–part of a high cultural and social register.

I know that in the technology convergence field, and “medical tourism” field, plastic surgery is seen as a growth industry for Korea. The assumption is that the IT component, the ability to employ advanced technology for the manipulation of information will give Korea the advantage over Thailand and other places strong in the field.

This ad starts out on the left with a cave painting suggesting a more primitive culture (and of course implying that some societies are more “primitive”). The central image is the famed Venus of Willendorf, also “primitive” but at the same time erotic. And the crescendo is the Venus de Milo. The evolution of the human body through technological modification is mapped on a pattern of increasing artistic sophistication. The reference is entirely Western.

We could almost say that the concept of the avatar from gaming has been carried over to the individual’s body, or maybe even the metaphor of the robot has been carried over. Suddenly, the body as an extension of technology, of customized technology, the blending of the carbon-based and silicon-based systems.

Books at Convenience Stores

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I mentioned the campaign to get Koreans to read in an earlier note. With the help of Professor Doh Jung-il and others, a consensus has formed that increasing the reading of books among citizens is the best way to take Korea to the next level.

I must admit, the first efforts seemed to be a bit primitive and from an American perspective, unlikely to succeed. But I am amazed to say that the number of people reading I observe is increasing rapidly. Here are some photos from a convenience store in the Seoul Metro. There was no such pile of books available in convenience stores even a year ago. Although imperfect, Korea seems to be able to set goals for national development in a manner that seems organic and convincing, and actually works.

Gangnam’s remarkable Shinsegae Department Store

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I remember that in the old days in Japan it was Takashima-ya in Yokohama that was the greatest department store in the world. What an assortment of foods and objects one saw when one wandered through its display cases.

I recently had a chance to tour the Shinsegae Department Store in Gangnam, Seoul and I was impressed. The quality is as good as anything I have seen in Japan and in some ways the service even better. Here are a two pictures of the cakes and candies on display.

Multilingual Seoul

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One sees a rapid increase in languages around Seoul other than Korean and English. Here are two notable bits of signage.

One is a mobile phone store with a sign in Chinese aimed at the increasing Chinese market in Korea. I am told that Chinese students have often more disposable income than Korean students at Korean universities. Have not conducted a study yet.

The other sign is for an Indian culture event. The poster does not assume a readership of Hindi, or maybe it does. In any case, Koreans previously had no tolerance for the Hindi language. That environment is changing quite rapidly.

Images of Daejeon

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Here is a portfolio of beautiful Daejeon. I took these photographs over a period of six months for use on the Daejeon Compass site. I think they represent well what makes the city exceptional.

 

Interview with Daejeon News about Vision for Expo Park (February 1, 2009)(in Korean)

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 This interview with Daejeon News was an opportunity to put forth a few ideas about what Daejeon can be. I think the article, in Korean, gives a good summary of the ideas I was advocating at the time.

“엑스포 과학공원, 과감한 변신 시도해야”

임마누엘 파스트라이쉬(한국명 이만열, 44)교수 인터뷰

2009년 02월 01일

홍석인 기자  hsiyj@naver.com

“대전은 가능성이 있는 도시다. 그러나 대전이 국제적인 도시가 되기 위해서는 과감한 변신을 시도해야 한다. 엑스포 과학 공원 역시 파격적으로 변신해야 한다.”

이것은 지난해부터 우송대 솔브릿지 국제경영대학 아시아연구소 소장을 맡고 있는 임마누엘 파스트라이쉬(한국명 이만열, 46)의 주장이다.

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